Whenever a major awards ceremony draws close, one notices a demand to include of new categories to honor unsung work and fill the passions of fans dedicated to specific genres.
A fellow writer made the case for a horror game category. That would rule. The same goes for board games, representing someone's personal cause. However, I must insist if I try to elbow in front since similar to dedicated enthusiasts, I possess a compelling case for why my demand stands as crucial and important of all. Here's the proposal: There should be a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and typically start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason film award organizations don’t do it. However, it represents a necessary evil within the realm of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse they barely qualify one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events presently include genre categories for Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these award types successfully include a lot of ground, making space possible for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, all very different: structural challenges of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, engaging interpersonal challenges of a third title. Where could they possibly go among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games published annually lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, if they accidentally match award groups including Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging Indie races.
- One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated completely in 2014
- A different innovative game missed out in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment recently
- Only a few brain-teasers barely qualified for niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
These are often compact experiences, however the design in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Well-known matching games stand as most engaged experiences in the world and have been for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges popular creative games claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. It would be easy to populate a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.
To emphasize again, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Logic title developers function at the hard edge of video game design, producing among essential manifestations of the video game form. Just like cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait generations.
